Bounce House Blows Away, Injures 3 Children

Two young boys were seriously injured on Monday when the Little Tikes bounce house they were playing in was swept off the ground and into the air by a strong wind gust.

The incident happened in South Glens Falls in Upstate New York around 3:20 p.m.

The inflatable playhouse had been staked down in a front yard by the man who owns it. When the wind pulled it out of the ground, three children were inside: a 10-year old girl and two boys, ages 5 and 6.

The girl fell out of the bounce house right after liftoff and only suffered minor scrapes and bruises. The two boys fell out when the inflatable reached 15-20 feet in the air. One of the boys landed in the street and broke both of his arms. The other boy landed on a parked car and is suffering from a serious head injury.

The inflatable continued to rise, flying over a stretch of woods and reaching 50 feet in the air before landing on the athletic fields of Oliver W. Winch Middle School.

“The first thing I thought was that was my sister was falling through the sky, because all I saw was arms and legs going,” said Taylor Seymour, older sister of the 10-year old girl. “[The bounce house] dropped off the first little kid in the middle of the road, then it came the other way, it passed over my apartment, it dropped the second one, he hit his head on the back of my car and then he fell to the ground.”

Stephanie Hansen was the first to call 911.

“I actually watched the fellow that put it up and he staked it and he did everything correctly. All the kids were having fun until they screamed to me to come down and I saw that,” she said.

Photos of the airborne playhouse were taken by a local South Glens Falls student as she prepared for a lacrosse game.

Little Tikes, the manufacturer of the bounce house, said it was looking into the accident.

“Providing safe and wholesome outdoor play experiences is of utmost important to Little Tikes,” a statement read. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the children and their families.”